The 2011 Project is a work by San Francisco artist Tofu. Each day in 2011 he created a 4”x4” mixed media piece. The finished project was made up of 365 smaller mixed media pieces. In 2013 the individual pieces will be distributed to project supporters. The project also acted as sketchbook for new ideas, which continue to be incorporated into new work
For more information please visit 2011project.com

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

November 15, 2011 – Lucha libre

I am fairly disinterested in sports and pay little attention, but one sport I love is Lucha libre.The costumed, freestyle wrestling that comes from Mexico.But for me it is all about the spectacle, the costumes, the accessories, and the kitsch.When sport becomes surreal performance art, I am delighted.That Lucha libre comes out of Mexico is no surprise.Mexicans can be proud that André Breton declared, “Mexico is the most surrealist country in the world.”These art school smarties who bore us with their video art and dull performance pieces are no match for any Luchadores.

About Me

I am an artist living in San Francisco. I work primarily in mixed media, collage and landscape painting. My work has included maps, postcard-themed art and mail art projects. In 2013 I began a series called Collagescapes where I start painting paper with areas of color representing the palette of a specific place. Next I cut the paper into hundreds of small pieces, randomize the pieces and then reassemble them in various geometric patterns. Collagescapes are both landscape paintings and collages. They appear abstract but retain the color palette of the places they represent.
My new series is Time Travel Photos — handmade photo collages showing places in San Francisco where I have cut and sliced present-day photographs and interwoven photos of nature representing how the City looked before Europeans arrived. Each is an image of an urban space with the natural past emerging through. For example, creeks once again run through the Mission and dunes reappear in Golden Gate Park and tidal flats fill the Embarcadero.
My work has shown in over 40 venues, primarily in California but also in other locations in the United States and abroad. My artwork can be viewed at tofuart.com